By Enyichukwu Enemanna
President of Nigeria, Bola Tinubu is set to depart Abuja on Sunday to New York, where he would join world leaders at the 2023 United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), a meeting that will afford him opportunity to meet executives of Microsoft, Meta and Exxon Mobil.
A release by the President’s Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Ajuri Ngelale says Tinubu will discuss with Microsoft President Brad Smith, how the country’s small businesses can have access to the internet to carry out transactions quickly.
Tinubu will meet Nick Clegg, President of Global Affairs for Meta technologies, and the global CEOs of General Electric and Exxon Mobil, the statement said.
The annual gathering of world leaders runs from Sept. 18 to Sept. 26.
Tinubu met US President Joe Biden at the G20 Summit in India last week after accepting Biden’s invitation to meet while they are both attending the General Assembly.
“The president is focused on attracting foreign direct investment, attracting jobs, attracting new tax revenues into the shores of our country,” Ngelale’s statement said.
“But he’s also focused in on making sure that homegrown Nigerian companies have fair and equal access to foreign and international markets.”
Ngelale said Tinubu will meet leaders from the United States, Brazil, Algeria, Comoros, South Africa and European Union. He will also meet the prime ministers of the Netherlands and Spain and the King of Jordan, Ngelale said.
Tinubu has embarked on a number of reforms to reposition the country’s economy and have been welcomed by investors.
However, they have brought additional hardship to Nigerians already dealing with a cost of living crisis. Nigeria’s inflation soared to an 18-year high in August, stemming from the removal of fuel subsidy.
